Concerns over future of historic railway carriage at defunct Sussex village station
Concerns are being raised over the future of a railway carriage at a former West Sussex village station.
West Sussex County Council has declared the 75-year-old railway carriage at the now defunct West Grinstead Station ‘surplus to operational requirements.’
West Grinstead is one of the few areas in the district which still has the remains of its once-thriving station. It was shut in the 1960s as a result of the ‘Beeching Axe’ when Lord Beeching, on behalf of the Government, closed what he considered to be little used and unprofitable lines.
The station – which now forms part of the Downs Link footpath – has displayed a British Railways Mark 1 coach on rails in the former goods yard for years. An old station platform also still remains and a replica station sign and old railway signal have been erected there.
But the railway carriage itself is now facing an uncertain future, much to the dismay of local residents. West Sussex County Council says that declaring it ‘surplus to requirements’ allows it to decide whether to sell it or look into using it for some other purpose which could include ‘redevelopment, regeneration, social, community and environmental use.’
The council says: “The carriage is in need of restoration and the plan is to offer it to the community through the Community Asset Transfer process.”
Meanwhile, local residents have taken to social media to express their concerns over its potential loss. Many suggest it would ‘make a very nice coffee stop for walkers or riders.’
Describing the decision as ‘sad’, one said: “Councils charge more and more, provide less and less, now they are taking away another piece of our heritage – shame on them.”
Another suggested that the carriage should remain where it is as a refuge for Downs Link walkers in wet weather, adding: “It is part of the history of the track.”